1900 The
Phillipines, Six non-Christian Phillipinos were sentenced to death for
the murder of a woman they believed had occult powers. They were
convinced the woman had killed a neighbors child with a magic spell.
They broke into the house of Victor Pere and took he and his wife
forcibly to the Lanay River where his wife was murdered. Victor managed
to escape and contacted the police. Although all six men were sentence
to death, a Christian named Douglas MacArthur (yes, that Douglas
MacArthur!) intervened and got the sentences commuted to 20 years, due
to the “blind superstition” of the accused. Belief in the power
of witchcraft is indeed superstition. (Friday, December 28, 1900
Waterloo, Iowa The Semi-Weekly Waterloo Courier)

+++

1901
London, England Frank Jackson, alias Jesus Christ and Editha
Jackson, alias Laura Horos ,Mrs. Diss Dabar, Angel Anna, and Swami Viva
Ananda stand trial for the rape of a woman as part of an occult ritual.
Vera Corysdale claimed that Frank and Eidtha had drugged her and
hypnotized her each day for a period of several days. In her helpless
state, Frank had proceeded to rape her as part of her “initiation
ritual” into the Theocratic Union, an offshoot of the Golden Dawn .

Under oath Corysdale told a shocked London court that Frank
had claimed he was Jesus Christ, and that having sex with him wasn’t a
sin but “an act of piety”. Furthermore, any illegitimate children that
might be accidently born would be “Divine”. Editha had been introduced
to the Golden Dawn as "Anna Sprengel", Samuel Mather's ficticious
contact who supposeldy lived in Germany. Jackson appeared at a time
when Mathers influence over the group was waning, and no doubt he
enlisted the aid of Jackson to bloster his ludicrous claims. Mathers
claimed he had been duped by Jackson as well, although he must have
known full well Anna Sprengel wasn't real, so it sounds unlikely!

The
pair were intiated into the Golden Dawn by Mathers (odd thing for
Mathers to do if she had been the one to grant Mathers a charter for
the Golden Dawn in 1888 in the first place!), and later stole books
containing the order's rituals for use in the Theocratic Union occult
order they later created. Their connection to the Golden Dawn tainted
the order's reputation, making it a laughing stock of British
newspapers, and contributed in part to it's downfall. Frank received 15
years in prison for rape and Editha received 7 years as an acessory.
Frank died in obscurity after his release from prison. Editha settled
in Mississippi and resumed being a fortune teller until she died
a few years later. (The Golden Dawn
Scrapbook by R.A. Gilbert, website
about Editha Jackson )

+++

1903 Havana
Cuba A girl is sacrificed as part of a ritual by a Palo Mayombe
cult.The story even reached American newspapers. Like Abaqa, Palo
Mayombe also practices ritual sacrifice. Sometimes members of the Abaqa
cult will claim to be Paleros, so it's possible the deed was committed
by an Abaqa group.

+++

1913 Pinar Del
Rio, Cuba A 6 y.o. girl is murdered as part of a Santeria type ritual.
Jose De La Cruz and Eugenio Cardenas are arrested for the murder. The
pair claimed they were only trying to draw some blood from the girl to
cure a sick woman, and that they had the girl's parents permission. The
girl was at first tied up, but escaped fled and her attackers. The two
men claimed they decided to use gun powder to casue an explosion to
then draw blood
since the girl was afraid of the knife, but they used too much and
killed her (right).

+++

1911-1912,
Lousiana and Texas A series of ax murders took place in Louisiana and
Texas. The first attack took place in Rayne, LA in Jan. of 1911,
involving a mother and her 3 children being hacked to death in bed. In
Feb.,the Buyers family was hacked to death in nearby Crowley, LA
(bodycount, 3). Later all 5 members of a Texas family, the Cassaways,
were hacked to death in April. The next murder was in Louisiana again,
the Norbert Randal family was killed in LaFayete, LA in Nov. (Body
count 6) In Jan. 19th, 1912, a woman and three children were killed in
Crowley. 2 days later in nearby Lake Charles, all 5 members of the
Charles Broussard family were slain.

In Baeumont. TX, a woman and her 3 children were slain. On 4-11-12, The
victims were usually light skinned blacks or mulattos, and always
murdered in their sleep, with rape or robbery not being the motives. A
note with quasi-religious language was left behind at the Broussard
murder. Rev. King Harris of the “Sacrifice Church” was arrested
and questioned by police. King had been in town holding a revival of
sorts during the day of the Randal murders. The Sacrifice Church had
ties to several Voodoo cults in New Orleans. Voodooists often combine
Voodoo with Christian rituals and symbolism. Sacrifice Church member
Clementine Bernabet was questioned by police, and eventually confessed
to the early crimes. She said that she other members had been given a
charm called a “canja”, that would allow them to do anything without
being detected. Police didn’t buy her story for some reason, and she
was not prosecuted.

Police noted the killer followed the rail road, suggesting it was
someone who worked on a train. After some more killings, in San
Antonio, TX, in August, the killer missed his mark, and struck
Mrs. James Dashiell in the shoulder. Her screams awoke the household,
and caused the killer to flee. Dashiell and her family survived. The
killings ceased, and shortly afterwards coincidentally, the Sacrifice
Church was disbanded. The police were never able to get a solid lead in
the killings to charge someone, and no suspect ever stood trial. Body
count: 49 including women and children.

+++

1912
Barcelona, Spain Brujare (witch) Marti Enriqueti was condemned to death
and executed for the kidnapping and killing of six local children.
Eriqueti rendered down the remains of the children for use in expensive
“love potions” she sold to clients. Police raided her home and found a
little girl named Angelita, who would have been victim number seven.
Angelia told police the witch had kidnapped her, and forced her to eat
a cannibal meal consisting of the remains of a previous victim.
Confronted with overwhelming evidence and the little girls testimony,
Enriqueti confessed to the crimes. So much for those stories
about witches stealing babies and eating them, huh?

+++

1928 York County, PA John
Blymire, John Curry, and Milton J. Hess all believed they had been
hexed, due to some unhappy circumstances in the lives of each. Blymire
had recently lost a son, Curry was a 14 y.o. in an abusive home, and
Hess had crop failure on his farm. All three sought the advice of a
local witch, who named a local "hexmeister" named Nelson D. Rehmeyer.
Pennsylvania Germans believed in a magic that was not a religion, nor
"European Pagan Shamanism" nor a system of worship, and has no
connection to Wicca, even though some occultists have tried to falsely
make these claims. The witch told the trio to break the hexes they
would have to either obtain a lock of Rehmeyer's hair or his copy of a
commercially published occult book titled "Pow Wow's or The Long Lost
Friend". It's also called "The Pennsylvania Dutch Hex Bible".
Blymire was also a hexmeister and also owned a copy of the book. The
trio drove to Rehmeyer's house where they confronted him. A fight
ensued, and Rehmeyer was slain. They were arrested for the murder.
oddly enoug, the book claims whoever owns a copy will be protected from
all harm. I guess once the owner is murdered, it's too late to get
their money back, huh?

At the trial the judge refused to allow any reference to witchcraft be
made. Blymire and Curry were given life in prison and Wilbert was given
10 to 20 years. In 1934, Hess and Curry were paroled and lived quiet
lives in the York area. Curry became an artist and died in 1962.
Blymire was finally paroled in 1953, returned to York and worked as a
janitor. Their superstitous belief in hexes took many years of their
freedom away. The book that caused all the trouble is stll in print,
and the Wiccans have gotten on the bandwagon, now claiming the ook is
somehow tied t Wicca, despite the fact the book predates Wicca (which
was created in the 1950's) by about a century. Some versions of the
book have the word "Gypsy" in the title, even though it really
has nothing to do with Gypsies or Native Americans.

+++

1929 Detroit,
Michigan Theosophist Benjamo Evangelista., his wife and four kids
were all found murdered in their home on St. Aubin Avenue, killed
by an ax murderer. A single fingerprint in blood, which was found on
the door knob of the Evangelista home, was the only clue the slayer
left. The print has not been matched to any in police records.
Evangelista had a ritual chamber in his house, with weird occult
figures dangeling on strings. Evangelista had been working for
years writing an occult book manuscript with the catchy title The
Oldest History of The World , Discovered by Occult Science In Detroit,
Michigan. The main suspect for the killing was Evangelista’s old pal in
the occult, Aurelius Angelino Like Evangelista, Angelino,
was obsessed with the occult. While Angelino lived in Pennsylvania, he
and Evangelista often performed rituals together. In 1919, Angelino
went bezerk and killed his two children with an ax, and was sent to a
mental asylum. In 1923 he escaped, and was never seen again. Some think
he paid a visit to a friend, and that the murders were all occult
related.

+++

1932 Detroit, MI A black man confessed to police
that he killed an
"unbeliever" on an altar in his home at 1429 Dubois street early one
Sunday, because his "gods demanded a human sacrifice". The victim
was James J. Smith, also black, and a roomer in the Harris home. Police
found the body, with a fractured skull and a sliver knife in the chest,
in a rear room of the house that Sunday afternoon. According the
Harris, the victim mounted an altar in the room and stood with his arms
outstretched, gazing at the ceiling. Then a few seconds before the
minute hand of the clocked reached 12 Harris got his dirk out of a
drawer and plunged it into Smith's heart, according to his tale. The
victim's skull was then fractured by an automobile axle. Robert Harris
and his wife, Bertha, were charged with murder. Police
sought 12 of Harris's "disciples" who allegedely witnessed the
sacrificial murder. From them they hoped to learn the extent to which
the rites of Voodoo have laid hold upon the imaginations of inhabitants
of the quarter in which Harris had his "temple."

Harris claimed he was the leader of a sect called "The Order of Islam",
but police eventually dismissed the claim after talking to the order's
leader,W.D. Farad, who said Harris was "a madman", and had no standing
in the order, although Harris was identified as a member. The
secretary of the order, Ugan Ali, told the press members are taught not
to eat certain foods, to employ their time usefully, and that by their
efforts the world can be rid of evil by 1934. Apparently they failed.
Farad and Ali were held by police for questioning and released.
Harris's prints were checked with those of the Evangelista killings,
but turned up negative. During his trial Harris refused to remove his
hat because he was "a king", and told the court, "I said 'aliker
alump,' and he fell dead. He died because it's a dumb civilization. But
I gave my children a break, because I'm a lover of children. Well, I've
got to go now." He then tried to leave, but not before trying to steal
a pocketful of rubberbands.

Harris became enraged when detectives later attempted to question him
regarding the rituals and practices of his cult. He refused to answer,
saying only that he was "going to kill lots of Christians." Police
discovered Harris had belonged to a breakaway cult, based on Voodoo and
Islam. The leader of this cult was Ugan Alie, who claimed he was "God
of the Asiatic Nation". As Detectives Oscar Berry and Charles W. Snyder
tracked down and investigated the ramifications of the cult's worship,
they confessed themselves "amazed at the number of Negroes apparently
enmeshed by the religion".

A registry book was discovered which had 8,000 names and addresses in
it. Meeting places which for many years had been thought to have been
no more than fraternal lodges, were discovered to have been
"temples" where "susceptible individuals are incited to kill 'devils'
in the hope of attaining heavenly forgiveness and reward." Farad told
police Alie and Harris had "apparently misunderstood my teachings."
Although Farad admitted the precepts of the Order command the death
penalty for persons who "disturb the peace of our temples" he said,
human sacrifices were not tolerated.

Police later determined people had been backed into joining the cult
through pressure by other members, and were unaware of the groups
dangerous ideas. In the days that followed, police were tipped off by
an infomant of another member of the cult who planned to kill his own
son in a ritual similar to the one Harris had carried out. The man
apparently found out and fled before police could question him. Several
other people told police they had been threatened by members of the
cult, including one woman who told her employer 3 male members had made
threats to her on her front porch. Another man came forward and said
Harris had threatened him the day before the Smith killing, and said
"now is the time for Crucifixings".

The cult supposedly had a "hit list" of many Detroit city leaders who
were to be killed as well as international figures like King of
England. Leaders of the Detroit's Negro community began a drive to
stamp out the Voodoo-Muslim hybrid cult. Rev. J.D. Howell of Stephen's
African Methodist Episcopal Church denounced the cult (as well as all
Muslims) in a series of sermons and called for an inter-racial
commission to be formed for the purpose of driving the cult out. With
mounting pressure from the media and both black and white community
leaders, membership in the cult seemed to evaporate. Harris was deemed
insane and spent the rest of his life in an asylum.

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